New Chicago Bears coach Marc Trestman donned Halas-like
glasses once he debuted on the sidelines for the team. His 3-0 start was indeed
Halas-like, and he brought an offensive performance not seen in Chicago since
the 1940's. His team started 3-0, but an utterly, historically bad Bears
defense brought hopes for ultimate success to a crushing halt.

Author's note: Since 2000, I've been writing a comprehensive
story with photos, rosters, side notes, statistics, starters and schedule for
every Bears season since 1979. I have finally realized that for the new
seasons, this busy professional Dad does not have the time to compare
with what Wikipedia's authors publish. Going forward, new season
information will be limited to some notes. Older season pages on this site will
be completed and expanded, as Wikipedia authors don't seem to be paying much
attention to them. Thanks for reading!

BearsHistory.com's 2013 Season Thoughts

Positive thought on the season:

The Bears dominated the AFC North division, going 4-0 against
those teams with victories against Cincinnati and Baltimore at home, and
Pittsburgh and Cleveland on the road.

Negative thought on the postivite thought:

Record against AFC teams, other than how it affects the
overall season record, does not matter in playoff determination. The Bears also
finished 2-3 against the NFC North and 4-8 against NFC opponents.

Veteran breakout season:

Hands-down, wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. In Jeffery's 2012
rookie season, injuries limited him to 10 games, 24 receptions, 367 yards and
three touchdowns in Mike Tice's offense. With the arrival of new Head Coach
Marc Trestman, Jeffery broke out furiously, catching 89 passes for 1,421 yards
and seven touchdowns. He also rushed 16 times for 108 yards with this
every-game end around opening up many other plays for the offense.

Worst veteran regression:

Safety Chris Conte. Drafted in third round in 2011 by the
Jerry Angelo regime, Conte started for a season and a half prior to 2013 and
generally played well. In 2013, he was completely exposed both against the run
and pass. In Conte's defense, every defensive back looks better with a pass
rush and much worse without one. The 2013 Bears could not stop the run or pass
in front of Conte, and he suffered. He will always be remembered for blowing
coverage on Green Bay's final play of the season finale, allowing a touchdown
and the Packers to snatch the division crown from the Bears.

Best offseason decision

The hiring of an offensive-minded Bears head coach for the
first time in decades with Marc Trestman. It was also a gutty, out-of-the-box
move since Trestman hadn't coached in the NFL since 2004. In 2012, offensively
the Bears ranked 16th in the NFL overall and 29th in passing. In 2013 these
rankings jumped to second in the NFL in points scored, eighth overall in yards,
fifth overall in passing yards and 16th in rushing yards. It was the highest
overall ranking for the offense since 1985, and best in passing yards since
before this website started tracking rankings.

Best offseason decision #2

Deciding to finally retire Mike Ditka's jersey #89 in front of
the crowd on a bitterly cold Monday night against Dallas. To fans, it was
unforgettable.

Worst offseason decision

Nothing specific comes to mind, but obviously the
decisionmaking that led to fielding the team's worst defense in its 94-season
history was flawed.

Best free agent acquisition

Left tackle Jermon Bushrod was the major splash, but the
quieter signing of left guard Matt Slauson really solidified the interior of
the line.

Worst free agent acquisition

Not the organization's fault, but defensive tackle Sedrick
Ellis would have been a massive help to the team when Henry Melton and Nate
Collins went down to injury. But Ellis decided to retire just a day into
training camp.